A mile in my shoes
by Sanctuary Dreamer
Summary: Ouran Academy for Special Needs. A school that only the wealthiest families can even dream of entering. Haruhi, an honor student with a poor heart, has obtained a scholarship that provides her the funds to attend the academy. She wants to focus primarily on her studies, but after running into the Host Club, she can see that it's going to prove to be harder then she thought.
1. Chapter 1

_The soft sound of a heart monitor, following each slow chime of my heart. I can barely see the ceiling, it feels like the lights are blinding me, despite how much they've been dimmed per my request. My breathing is hard and heavy. I don't even have the strength to cry anymore, des[ite how hard I remember sobbing on the way here. I can feel my hand being squeezed, so hard that it feels like it's going to be broken. But I can't bring myself to pull away or ask to be let go. I turn my head just a bit and star at the redhead of hair that belongs to my father. His forehead is pressed against the mattress and his shoulders are trembling. He looks so broken. I wish I could reach out and touch him. But I can barely seem to move._

_"Haruhi," he says, as I struggle to keep my eyes open. "Please, I know it hurts. I'm so sorry. Daddy would take it away if he could. But you have to be strong okay?" A sob broke past him as he struggled to speak. "Just keep fighting. Don't you leave daddy..." I feel like he was talking more to himself then he was to me. I had been drifting in and out of consciousness this entire time, and since I wasn't answering, I get the feeling he thinks I couldn't hear him. I couldn't speak to him yet, I could barely get enough breath to stay conscious, let alone speak. So all I could was listen to him._

_"Please Harhu, daddy's begging you. I can't lose you too..."_

* * *

Ouran's Academy for Special Needs. Just the name Ouran seemed to make other schools shy away. It was an academy that only the richest of the rich could even hope to glance at. The headmaster, after being inspired and humbled by the struggles of his own disabled wife, had built this school with the hopes of providing the best possible schooling and accommodations for other students with special needs. This high school had the best of equipment, family and private doctors and nurses, with the best understanding of what these students needs were, and classes that were structured around the students physical and mental capabilities, in order to give each and every student the best possible experience. they even offered home-schooling programs for students who spent a majority of their time in hospitals, and different forms of physical, cognitive, and emotional therapy. At the moment, there were still some big projects in the making, such as creating live-in accommodations for potential overseas students, amongst other ideas.

One of these projects was their scholarship program. Which was just how Miss. Haruhi Fujioka managed to enter this school. The headmaster himself had been wanting to reach out to other special needs programs, and invite students for less well-off communities to join their school. Help and caring he felt, should not have to be limited to students from wealthy families. But when he had tried to expand his admission to those who were not from wealthy families, there was often a lot of backlashes. The wealthy families protested allowing such commoners into the school. Not after the wealthy families had worked so hard to get to where they were today, and paid so much to get their students into the school. It felt unfair to allow commoner students into the school. In order to quell the anger, for the time being, the headmaster had quieted down and kept his policies that same. But that didn't stop him from creating the Ouran scholarship, with the hopes of reaching out to the brightest of commoners and bringing them into the school.

Which is how Haruhi found herself wandering the school, searching for a place to study. She could still remember the day she received the letter regarding her acceptance into Ouran's Academy for Special Needs. Her father had cried and hugged her, as Haruhi silently praised herself for her own accomplishments. It had taken a boat-load of studying, but it was all very much worth it. It was one of the best high schools out there, and she was more than excited to give it a try. But, at the moment, she was starting to wonder whether or not she made the right decision...

This library was crowded. That library was crowded. The study room was full. And for goodness sakes, why was it all so noisy? She would have thought there were have been some sort of volume limit, but of course not. There was no way she could study at this rate. She had to admit, she knew it was still early April, the beginning of the school year. But she still wanted to start off on the right foot in term of schooling. In order to keep her scholarship, she had to be at the top of her game in each subject. And she refused to take it easy simply because she made it in. But at this rate, she felt like she would have to save her studying for home.

After determining that these places wouldn't do for studying, she crossed the hall of the school, and then across the lobby. She had checked everywhere down here. So she may as well take a peek at the second floor. At the bottom of the stairs, she paused. Gripping the handrail, she stared up towards the top. She knew there was an elevator close by she could use instead. Big enough for a few wheelchairs or walkers. But the stairs were still here for any students who could or wanted to use them. Already feeling out of breath, Haruhi could feel her chest begging her to use the elevator. But, she didn't really feel right about it. She didn't NEED the elevator. She could climb the stairs. Just...just so long as she rested for a little bit afterward, that was all. She could do this.

Haruhi had been born with an undetected Ventricular Septal Defect. In other words, a hole in her heart. The doctors had detected a murmur in her heart when she was born, but it was passed off as an innocent heart murmur, common in newborns. But this murmur was one that continued on and on as she grew up. She was often short of breath and felt what she described as, 'pain in her heart' when she was too little to call it anything else. She grew slowly, and her physical activity was minimal due to the pain that came with it. She was supposed to be examined once again when she turned three, hoping to be given a diagnosis, or some sort of treatment. But, the family hit a large roadblock.

The death of Haruhi's mother. Having been a healthy and happy woman, Kotoko was expected to live a nice, long time. So when she was suddenly in a car accident and killed, both husband and daughter were shaken to the core. So for a little while, nothing progressed. Things were stagnant as they tried to deal with Kotko's death. Haruhi's murmur was forgotten, and things couldn't get any worse.

Then, just as they were starting to finally recover, and accept what happened, was when the world came crashing down one last time. At the age of four, Haruhi woke up in the night, running a fever. Shortly after that, she stopped eating. She had night sweats and never left her bed. Then finally, she had such shortness of breath, that it felt like a horse was resting on her chest. Rushed to the hospital, she was diagnosed with Endocarditis, an infection of the heart from the previously untreated hole. That night, the small girl had nearly died. While she was grateful to have survived in the end, she was left with irreversible muscle damage to the heart and heart failure. She had to live with this now and was not expected to live much longer if it continued to get worse. But here she was now, 15 years old and still alive. She would admit, it was still heart sometimes. Shortness of breath, frequent hospitalization, and the looming knowledge that a heart transplant was likely in the future. That is if it were even slightly affordable. But as expected, it was simply too much money to even consider. so for now, she lived with her disability the best she was able to and made the best life she was able to for herself.

After taking a moment, Haruhi took a breath, and pushed her ways up the stairs, gripping tightly to the handrail to keep herself going. She did her best to rely on the handrail and press as much of her weight against it as she could so she could go up. Once she reached the landing, she took a moment to rest again, before pulling herself up to the second flight. Once she was finally at the top, she slightly sat on the top of the stairs and placed her head between her legs. Her head was starting to spin from the lack of oxygen and the effort it took to simply ascend the stairs. But she was okay. she knew she was okay. This didn't scare her anymore. It was simply the way it was. She moved one of her shaky hands to remove her thick glasses and set them to the side so they did not slip off her face. Hugging her knees, Haruhi took some deep breaths through her mouth, and then out her nose, slowly and deeply. Just as she always did. She waited for her head to stop hurting and her breath to come normally. The words of her father rang in her head. If she couldn't catch her breath still after ten minutes or longer, or her chest hurt her so badly that she couldn't breathe at all, then find a nurse, call her father, or call the hospital. These were his words of 'wisdom' that seemed to be drilled into her head every morning before school. She knew he cared. But, she was a bit tired of hearing it every single morning.

Once she felt a bit abler, she slowly pulled herself to her feet and took one last breath, slipping her glasses back onto her face. Then, she continued her journey to find the proper study place. As she searched, there was one room that truly seemed to catch her attention. _Music Room #3. _Well...it wasn't the most ideal study room. But so long as it was quiet, it would be fine for her. She approached the door and gently pushed it open. "Pardon me..." she said, simply making sure that she truly as alone as she thought she was.

The moment she opened the door, she was bombarded with rose petals drifting with the small breeze that came when the door gave way. "Welcome~" came a chorus of voices, each of which belongs to a boy. Once the flowers had stopped coming, Haruhi was able to get a better look. Standing before her (Well, five standing, one sitting) was six, handsome boys, smiling patiently at her as they awaited her response. For a moment, Haruhi's mouth simply gapped like a fish as she tried to figure out what to say. Finally, she turned back to the door.

"Um, sorry to bother you," she said quickly. "Wrong room."

"Hold on a second, I know you!" one of the boys proclaimed. "She's in the same class as I am!" Haruhi turned to look over her shoulder, feeling a bit nervous. One of the orange haired twins was pointing her own, his brows raised.

"Oh? Is he an acquaintance of yours?" This time, the speaker was a second-year boy. His dark hair matched the color of the black dust mask he wore over his mouth and nose.

"I wouldn't really say that. He's a pretty quiet guy, really keeps to himself y' know? I don't really hear much from him."

"Mm. I'd think you'd be a bit more appreciative, being a classmate of the honor student," the taller boy joked with a shrug.

"Honor student! That's Haruhi?!" At the outburst who she could only assume was the leader, Haruhi quickly turned back to the door, trying to open it back up. She could hear a soft rattling before she could feel someone coming closer. Finally braving a look over he shoulder, she came face to face with a blonde male with violet eyes. He was just about eye-level with her, as he sat in a wheelchair, propelling himself towards her. "Haruhi! It's a pleasure to welcome you to Ouran!" he said. "My name is Tamaki Suoh. But I'm quite sure you've already heard of me," he winked. "And it's an even bigger pleasure to welcome you to the Host Club~"

"I'm sorry but...then what?" Haruhi whimpered.

"The Host Club!" he repeated, placing an arm around her as his arm swept over his group. "I'm so proud of you honor student! A commoner entering our secret treasure trove of wealthy students. And not only that but coming out as so openly gay, that he may enter the host club with no qualms!"

"Openly what?" Did Tamaki think she was a boy?!

"Now then, what's your type cutie?" Tamaki asked with a wink.

"Wait, hold on now! You've got it all wrong!" Haruhi insisted. "This was just a mistake, I'm only looking for somewhere to study!"

"Study huh? Why don't you do that at home?" Tamaki asked. Ugh.

"Look please just-!" She didn't get to finish the sentence, when a small student suddenly pounced on her, embracing her tightly.

"Wow, Haru-chan! So you're kinda like a superhero huh? Super smart and super brave too!"

"I...I wouldn't really say that" She took a brief moment to stare at these boys. Something was telling her that she would be seeing a lot of them from now on.

She knew the twins. Or one, of them anyways. Hikaoru Hitachiin. Haruhi hadn't had the chance to get to know him very well, because they didn't talk a lot. She wasn't aware he had a twin though. glancing at his other twin, she could see the similarities quite vividly. The same orange hair and hazel eyes, the same height, weight, and facial structure. But there were a few main differences. Hikaoru had his uniform on of course. But his twin was missing his uniform jacket and was wearing a long-sleeved, white shirt instead. He also had a tablet strapped to his waist. It was like he was carrying a messenger bag, with a strap around his left shoulder, attached to a tablet. Haruhi wasn't positive as to why he had the tablet, but she could only assume it was because he was either unable to or barely able to speak. She didn't know.

The glasses boy was one that she didn't know either. Taller than the twins, intelligent eyes, and a piercing gaze that didn't leave Haruhi. The dust mask that covered his face made her think he could be immunocompromised in some way. She wasn't sure.

The tallest boy was also staring at her. Tan skin, dark hair, and a strong jaw. He seemed gentle, despite his tall stature. She would like to get to know him a bit better sometime. Finally, the small boy in her arms. He looked no older than 6. But since he was wearing the uniform, she could only assume he was a high schooler as well. He was smiling up at her without a car in the world, almost making her cringe. She set him down on the ground and sighed.

"Listen, I just wanted to find a place to study. I'm not interested in this Host Club, or whatever it is," she sighed.

"Oh come now, dear Haruhi! There's nothing to be ashamed of!" Tamaki insisted, pushing his chair a bit closer to her. "Our club is meant for everyone, male or female! We all want to make you feel welcomed! It would be an honor to have the honor student come to play with us~" He reached out, and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Mm, you seem a little pale. What say you? Would you like to rest, on my lap~?

Haruhi visibly shuddered and took a few steps back. "N-no no! Id' really rather not!" Taking a few steps too far, her back collided with a small pillar, which held a large, blue vase. Whirling around, she leaned forward and tried to grab the vase before it fell. But, with a loud shattering sound, it hit the ground and broke. She stared at the pieces for a moment, her body trembling, before slowly looking up at the others. They were watching her with surprise, with the glasses boy approaching and examining the pieces. "I uh...I'm sorry," Haruhi managed to say past her trembling lips.

"Well well Haruhi. Seems you've broken a rather expensive vase," the glasses boy sighed, making Haruhi stiffen up.

"I'll...I'll pay you back. I promise," Haruhi managed to say.

"How? It seems you couldn't even afford the uniform," Kyoya pointed out, raising a brow. Well then...

"Well Haruhi, not all hope is lost!" Tamaki chuckled. "Have you ever heard the saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do?" he asked with a smirk. "If you can't pay with money, then you can simply pay with your body. Haruhi, until you can pay off your debt, you shall be the Host Club's dog~"

Dog...a dog? An errand boy. The Scape Goat. A...a servant basically.

Maybe this school wasn't the best investment after all.

* * *

** This story has been in mind for quite a while, and I've finally decided to go forward with it. An AU with the Ouran High School being a school for students with special needs, both physical and mental. I'm doing every last bit of research that I can before moving forward, and I'm using the experiences of both myself and of others to help me write. Because I also have a disability. I am also majoring in Special and elementary education at my university. It will likely take some time before the next chapter comes out, so before then, I'd like to ask for help.**

**If you or someone else you know has a disability and would like to help, please send me a PM. I'd love to hear from you and hear about your experience so that I can make sure things are properly written.  
Also, please understand this. I am not writing to romanticize or downplay disability or chronic illness. This is a story meant for two things. Representation, and understanding. In the media, disability and illness are underrepresented as I've come to realize. And when I see people write about the same types of experiences I've had or creating headcanons with a character they or I can relate to, it makes me happy. I write this story with the same intent. If you are reading this, and do not have a disability, or do not know anyone with one, then this is meant for you to walk a mile in their shoes, and see what's it's like for us.**

**I truly hope you enjoy this story, and if you have any ideas regarding plot or any form of constructive criticism, then please let me know. PMs and comments are greatly encouraged and appreciated. Thank you very much for reading~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Before we start, I would like to acknowledge and thank RavynLex, who was a truly big help to me in brainstorming and writing for this story. She was kind enough to share her own story in living with Fibromyalgia, and how she manages. She brainstormed with me and help me create so many new ideas and story plots. She's a wonderful author with her own phenomenal characters, that I've personally become quite invested in myself heh. Please enjoy this chapter!**

Well, this was certainly not the development I had expected. One moment I was trying to find a place to study and the next, I was saddled with a uniform and a 100 client quota. Good grief. How in the world did they expect me to do something like this? I was by no means a host. I wouldn't say I'm an anti-social person, but I wouldn't say I'm an extrovert either! But after they had loaned me a uniform, and seen my 'true beauty' as Tamaki called it, I went from being a dog to a host. This whole thing is just more trouble then it's worth.

Sitting on the couch, my eyes trail across the three girls who sit across from me. They are smiling patiently at me, excited to have a new host join in. I guess when you have six boys to choose from, and it is only those boys, it can only keep you entertained for so long. Or, that's my assumption anyways. A lot of other girls seem pretty eager to stick with the other hosts. I'm grateful at least that these girls are willing to give me a chance I suppose. "So Haruhi!" One of the girls says, snapping me out of my momentary stupor. "What made you decide to join the host club?"

Oh jeez. Do I answer honestly, or just lie to them? "Um...I don't know. I just needed a change I guess," I answer, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Your skin is so clear! How did you manage that?"

"Just with...my soap?" I answered lamely. I could see Tamaki wincing out of the corner of my eye. This was probably more painful to watch then it was for me to attempt.

"I've heard that you're the honor student right? Why did you decide to attend this school?" Hm, well there was an interesting question I suppose.

"Well, I heard it was one of the best academic wise, and I thought it might help me get closer to my end goal," I explained. "Not only that but when I heard it was a special-needs school, I thought it might be even more helpful." As soon as that left my lips though, I had a bit of a bad feeling. I knew what question was coming next, 'What's wrong with you?' I heard it all the time back in middle school. Students asked me why I couldn't run in my gym class, and why I became so easily winded. They would ask me why I missed school so often. Sometimes when I would change into my gym clothes, girls would ask why I had a scar on my chest. It was the only visible part of my disability, form the surgery I had when I was five. But no matter how many times they asked me, it never became any less embarrassing. So, I quietly braced myself for the barrage of questions.

"Is that right? Oh wow, you're pretty dedicated then, aren't you? What is your end goal anyway?" Oh? They weren't asking me what was wrong with me? No, they were asking a normal, everyday question. One that anyone could be asked. I had to fight not to smile too wide.

"Well, I want to be a doctor," I answered.

"That's really ambitious Haruhi! Why do you want to be a doctor?" Okay, now I really couldn't stop myself from smiling. I've been so used to stares, or questions where people just poked their nose into my business. I don't blame them for being curious. And it's not reasonable to pretend my disability doesn't exist. But to just have a normal, casual conversation like this was something I took for granted. I almost forgot how nice it feels.

"Well, because I want to be able to help other people," I answered. I feel like it's the first time I've ever been able to tell someone that. It's not as though it's a secret. But, no one has ever bothered to ask. They always see my flaws before they see anything else. So this is really different. Dare I say, it sort of makes me...happy. The Host Club still isn't really my first choice of school activity. But if it means being treated like this, then I'm all for it really. With the girls listening, I began to speak, telling them about my mother, and just how intelligent, and inspiring she was before she died. How much she inspired me, and why I wanted so desperately to follow along in her footsteps. I had wanted to be a lawyer like her at first. But after she died, I realized that I didn't want anyone to ever have felt as terrible as I had that day. I used to think that if the right people had been there, she could have been saved. It's a childish thought, I know. But it's a thought I was never able to really let go of. She was my biggest role model, and she still is, even to this day. With the girls hanging on my words, I tell them about what life is like for me today, living without my mother. I didn't really enjoy the sadness in their eyes I'll admit. But, it was just so so much better then looks of pity. I have to admit, I truly enjoyed it.

But, I guess the roles were a bit reversed in this case. I'd never met another peer who was disabled. Or, not that I knew of anyways. But sitting before me, were three girls who, in a sense, were just like me. Two of them looked rather normal. But one of them had walked in with braces on her legs, and using crutches to help her. As awful as it might sound, I really wanted to ask them. I wanted to know why they were in this school. This was the first time I had even been one of the bunch, in a matter of speaking. And I wanted to know how similar we were. I knew it was rude, and they probably wouldn't like it anymore then I had. So, I kept my lips buttoned and mind my own business. Being a Host was going to take some getting used to...

As the girls took a moment to talk amongst themselves, I took this chance to look at everyone else. This club was still a bit new if I remember right. How were the others able to do this so easily?

Tamaki, the 'king' himself, was speaking so casually to his clients, that you would almost think he was born to do this. I was a bit surprised to see one of the girls sitting on his lap, taking up the offer he made to me earlier in the day. Did he do that often? The girl certainly seemed to enjoy it anyway, as her arms were laced around his neck, and she had such a cat-like smile. She was liking being the center of attention, that was for sure. But just watching him hold her like that made me a little uncomfortable. It felt like he was using his handicap to his advantage in a sense. I had nothing against making the most of one's struggles of course. And I have no right to talk about how one coped. But still, something about how casual he was about this really bothered me for reasons that I really couldn't explain. Maybe I should talk about it later...

Not too far away from him was Kyoya. Nothing out of the ordinary there. His mask was pulled down just a little so the girls could hear him better. The room was just a little noisy from all of the people in it, and his mask probably would have just made it even harder to understand him. The girls looked pretty excited as he showed them what looked like photo albums. Attempting to make a sale huh? Good grief.

Takeshi and Mitskuni were hosting together. Mitsukuni was sitting up on Takeshi's lap, and swinging his legs as he nibbled on a piece of cake. The girls were swooning over him and pinching his cheeks. It looked like they saw him more like a baby then as a teen. How could he stomach being treated like that? Well, he certainly seemed to enjoy it anyway, as he was just laughing away.

As Honey was being cooed over, two girls sat on either side of Takeshi, leaning against his strong arms. I could tell how careful he was not to jostle them as he kept his arms still. Every now and again, they would comment about something. Most of the time, he answered with a nod or a shake of his head. I assumed at first that he was just a man of few words. But that thought was tossed out when he suddenly raised one of his hands and made the sign for 'Thank you.' Sign language! I only know a few phrases I had picked up from television programs, but I could understand that one. So he couldn't speak huh? He didn't seem to be deaf though, as the girls who were talking to him didn't use signs. Well, he could be a good lip reader though. Hm. So he was either deaf or mute I realized.

Finally, I looked at the twins. There seemed to be a lot of activity going on over there. Four girls sat on one couch, while Hikaoru and Kaoru occupied the one across from them. Well...Hikaoru occupied it anyways. Kaoru was standing, and he had his hands pressed against the window. He was staring up at the blue sky, bouncing on his toes as he stared. His tablet had been left on the couch. And his shoes had been abandoned as well, leaving him in his socks. I guess that was how he was most comfortable. I don't blame him, to be honest, I wouldn't mind kicking off these stuffy shoes myself. I couldn't help wondering if something had caught Kaoru's interest out there. But the others were watching him patiently, and talking to him, even though he did not answer back. After a moment, Hikaoru got up, and stood by his brother's side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and pointing at something in the sky that I couldn't quite see myself. What a nice relationship they seemed to have.

The dynamic of the host club members all seemed to be pretty friendly and laid back. Some more then others I would admit. But still, I felt like with their help, I could reach the quota they had for me in no time. Well...maybe not 'no time.' It was clear to me just how popular the other club members were, and how frequently they were requested. So to gain 100 clients was going to be a challenge, to say the least.

"Haruhi?" I quickly snapped my head back up to look at the girls. "Do you think we could request to see you again sometime? We've really enjoyed the time we've spent with you so far, and we'd love to see you again. If that's okay I mean!"

"Oh! No, yeah, that would be perfect!" Three down. 97 more to go...

* * *

"Haruhi! You did so great!" Tamaki praised as Haruhi cleared the last of the teacups from her table. "I'll have to admit, you had me worried there for a second, but that save! Oh, you did so wonderfully!"

"Mm-hm," Haruhi sighed, already feeling a little worn. "Well, I'm not an expert yet. But hopefully, this means I'll get the clients I need a little quicker then I thought I would."

"Well, I have all the faith in the world! I just know you can do it!" Haruhi ignored him for now, clearing the rest of the cups onto the tea tray and setting it on his lap.

"Take these to the kitchen for me okay? I need a break."

"Sure thing! Once I get back though, we'll have a bit of a progress report together okay? Toodles~" Haruhi just shook her head, watching Tamaki carefully pivot his chair and push himself off, balancing the tray on his lap rather well, as though he had done this plenty of times before. Once he was gone, Haruhi slowly lowered herself back onto the couch with a sigh. Then, she reached over and plucked her bag up from under the table where she had it waiting. After rummaging inside, she pulled out a small, white bottle. Beta-Blockers. Her medicine. It lowered her blood pressure and ensured that her heart didn't work as hard. After twisting the cap off and shaking two into her hand, she rummaged through her bag once again. Water bottle, water bottle. For goodness sake, she didn't forget it did she? It wasn't like she didn't know how to dry swallow medicine. But she usually tried to avoid it if she could. It was terribly uncomfortable if she was being honest. Oh gosh, where was it?

"Need a hand?" Haruhi startled slightly and looked back up. Kyoya stood before her, laptop tucked under his arm, and brows cocked just a bit.

"No. Well, sort of. You wouldn't happen to have any water would you?" she asked him.

"Never leave home without it," he responded. Haruhi couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but was still grateful when he pulled an unopened bottle of water from his own bag after setting his laptop down. Haruhi sighed with relief, taking the bottle and thanking him. Kyoya quietly settled himself down on the sofa across, watching as Haruhi unscrewed the top and took her medicine. "So Haruhi. How are you liking the Host Club thus far?" He asked, pulling his laptop onto his lap and opening it up. His tone indicated that he didn't really care either way how she felt. But at least he had the courtesy to ask she supposed.

"It's alright," she admits with a shrug. "Not my first choice of club, but it's not the worst thing I've ever done." This seemed to amuse Kyoya, as she heard him chuckle. For a moment, he didn't say anything, choosing instead to browse the files of his computer. Finally, he looked up at her.

"You know Haruhi," he began. "A lot of the students in this school have been treated at my families hospitals," he said. Haruhi raised a brow. Was this his own way of bragging? "Because of that, I have a good amount of data on almost every student in the school. I have access to medical records, and can usually determine reasonings behind why a student is at this school." Then, he paused and looked up at Haruhi over his screen. "Except for you. I have nothing."

"Well...isn't that sort of breaking confidentiality rules?" Haruhi asked, a little taken aback.

"Well, only if I tell people about the records," he answered honestly. "You can't blame me for being curious. I see many of these students all the time. Many emergency cases we get are one or more of our peers." Haruhi fidgeted a little.

"Let me guess. You want to know why I'm here don't you?" Haruhi asked with a heavy sigh.

"I can't deny the fact that I'm curious." She wasn't sure if she felt more annoyed, or embarrassed.

"My heart," she mumbled. "There's been a lot of muscle damage to my heart." Kyoya nodded and began typing away. Was he making his own record? For goodness sake. Well now, how would he feel if he had to be prodded at for something so personal?

"Well, what about you huh? Why are you attending this school?" she asked him, hoping to see him flinch or hesitate.

But instead, without skipping a beat, he said rather casually, "Cystic Fibrosis."

"Oh..." she returned, sinking down a little on the couch.

"You're going to have to get used to this sort of a thing eventually. The girls won't usually pry into your personal business in such a way. But you can't think you should hide your illnesses, or act like they don't exist. Which is something that I get the feeling you've been trying to do." Haruhi fidgeted again.

"It's not that I think they shouldn't be regarded," she mumbled. "It's just...well..." Oh, how was she supposed to put this into words? Her thoughts flashed back to Tamaki for a moment, who had been shamelessly allowing girls to sit on his lap as he sat in his chair, acting as a cushion almost. She felt a small surge of anger and sat up a little straighter. "I just don't think it's anything to be so proud of!"

"Oh?" That certainly had Kyoya's interest.

"Disability doesn't define you. It's a part of you, but it's not something you should try to draw so much attention to." Before she could stop herself, she told him honestly. "I don't like how nonchalant Tamaki is about all this. It feels like he's trying to show off or something. And I just don't like it." She could see that Kyoya was thinking rather hard about what she said, debating what to say next. Finally, he closed his laptop and set it aside for just a moment.

"Haruhi, do you know why Tamaki started this club?" She shook her head. "Well, he started it for all the wrong reasons. He wanted to send a message. But it just wasn't the right one. He wanted to tell everyone that they were beautiful. That he was beautiful. That we were beautiful." He pushed up his glasses and continued. "Despite our disabilities." He gave Haruhi a moment to take that in. "The way Tamaki is now is night and day when compared to how he used to be. He hated who he was. And he felt miserable. He saw his incapabilities as more of a flaw, then as a part of himself. Eventually, he began this club as a way to make himself, and others of the same mindset feel better. But as you can imagine, that only went over so well. Back then, he would act as though his wheelchair didn't exist. He acted as though he were just as able-bodied as everyone else. But, it only led him to feel worse."

"So...what did he do?"

"Well, he talked. He spoke to us and was honest about how he felt. And he came to realize what was wrong. It was his point of view. He wanted to love himself, he really did. But, he knew he couldn't act like this big part of him didn't exist. It took some time. But his motto changed. And he realized it's up to the person how they want to feel about their abilities and disabilities and how they treat it. Personally, he's no longer ashamed of himself, and he enjoys behaving in this way because of that. He's not ashamed anymore. Personally, I don't like to draw attention to myself. but I won't deny it's there. It's the same for you Haruhi. you can treat it however you feel is necessary. But it's unreasonable to pretend it doesn't exist. Or, that's how I see it anyways."

Haruhi sat back now, thinking it over. "That...gives me a lot to think about," she admits, folding her arms.

"Take your time," Kyoya nodded, picking up his computer again. "Ah, by the way," he hummed. "When do you plan, if ever, to tell our 'king' that you're female?" Ah, so he knew all along, did he?

"When the time is right I guess," Haruhi shrugged.

"F-f-female?!" Haruhi winced when Tamaki's shrill voice reached her ears, getting the attention of the other host club members. Seems he came just in time.

"Seems the right time came," Kyoya said with a shake of his head.

"Mm-hm..."

**PMs and comments are still very much appreciated! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter I plan to introduce Umehito, and Haruhi's father. I'm also thinking about having a club outing. Maybe. The exact details are not yet ready, but I hope to have them soon! Thank you for reading!**


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